MC: Hi Shelli. Welcome! Tell us a little about yourself.

SS: Hi, thanks for having me! Well, I live in the Pacific Northwest where I’m the Vice President of my local RWA chapter. I’m a single mom, and I love to write. I used to do Tae Kwon Do where I’m a second degree purple belt, but I’m taking a break due to time and monetary reasons.

MC: When did you start writing?

SS: I started writing when I was a teenager. My own little romances that we’re maybe seven pages long. LOL.

MC: What was it like auditioning for American Idol?

SS: It was… an experience. LOL. It was tiring. Contrary to what everyone thinks, you don’t just go and audition for Randy, Simon and Paula. There are three stages to the audition, three cuts you have to make. The first part of the audition you have to wait in line for hours on end (we got in line at 3 in the morning) before you even get to audition. You wait it tight, crowded lines. Then you get herded into whatever venue they’ve picked, and you wait for your number to come up. You go down with 5 or 6 people and stand in front of a panel of judges. But the entire floor is full of sections with judges, so at one point you’ll have about 60 people auditioning. That’s the first cut, if you make it through that you go to the second round. Round three is Randy, Simon, and Paula. During the first round they encourage people to be the next William Hung because we can’t all be the next American Idol *rolling eyes* I just went along to support my best friend and decided to audition because I thought it could be great research for a book some day! I got booted first cut. I almost sang The Greatest Love of All with hand motions and as off pitch as possible, but decided it wasn’t worth the humiliation. (I was a music major and I would never hear the end of it!) Overall the whole process is really staged and a bit cheesy.

MC: Tell us about your books. You have two out with Cobblestone Press right now, correct?

SS: I have Tourist Attraction and The Pirate’s Booty both out with Cobblestone Press. They both are contemporary erotic romances and have been receiving great reviews! Here’s the mini premise for each.

Tourist Attraction: Melanie goes to Hawaii on vacation with two major goals. To get a tan, and to have a fling. Then things take a twist–or at least her ankle does–and she finds herself in the care of a sexy doctor. One who’s more than willing to show her his bedside manner.
The Pirate’s Booty: To save her business, Renee crashes a party thrown by the descendant of a pirate. She plans to steal back a brooch taken from her ancestor centuries ago. But what she doesn’t realize is that it’s a sex party, and Devon Murray is as notorious as his pirate ancestor.

MC: What’s coming up next for you?

SS: I have two more books coming out with Cobblestone Press. This Spells Trouble was my first paranormal that comes out in October. My heroine is a witch, my hero is a vampire. This is part of a three book Halloween series, Vegas Magic, I’m doing with Sara Dennis and Loribelle Hunt. I also have a book Silk Hauntings coming out in December. That is fun, sexy little ghost story.

MC: What do you love most about writing?

SS: The freedom of it. I love creating my own stories and giving them my own ending. It’s just like reading a book I love, only I’m in the drivers seat.

MC: What’s your least favorite part about writing/publishing?

SS: Writing a synopsis. That and trying to find some of my earlier works a home. And then knowing it’s possible I may have to just bury the manuscript.

MC: Is there a setting that you’ve wanted to include in a book that you haven’t yet?

SS: I’d like to do a futuristic. And I’ll probably be doing one soon.

MC: Do you have a muse?

SS: I think the muse is the biggest excuse to procrastinate if I’ve ever heard one. I didn’t even know what a muse was until I saw the movie.

MC: Any advice for up and coming writers?

SS: Write a book, and then another one. Keep writing and sending them out. You get better with each book, and you prove to the agent/editors that you’re productive.

MC: How about some fun questions?

SS: What’s your favorite Rascal Flatts’ song? Oooh I just discovered them a few months ago. (I’m a newly converted country fan!) I really like ‘What hurts the most’ and ‘Fast Cars and Freedom.’

MC: Is the glass half empty or half full?

SS: Who cares as long as it’s Diet Coke J Umm… probably ½ full

MC: If you were a flavor of bubble gum, what flavor would you be?

SS: Oooh Pina colada

MC: Who are your favorite authors and why?

SS: Lori Foster, Cherry Adair, Sasha White. All write fabulous for their genre.

MC: What’s your idea of the perfect date?

SS: Probably a picnic dinner, under the stars in the country, with a cd player playing various types of music (depending on my mood, lol) Country and Classical.

MC: Do you have a favorite sport?

SS: It used to be baseball, but the Mariners are pissing me off. So it’s now football. Go Seahawks!

MC: Do you believe in love at first sight?

SS: No way. I believe in lust at first sight, but I think the love comes later.

MC: How can readers get in touch with you?

SS: You can visit my website at www.shellistevens.com, my blog at www.shellistevens.blogspot.com, or email me at shellistevens@shellistevens.com

Synchronicity

I’m pretty sure that synchronicity is one of my favorite words, both because of it’s sound and meaning. I’m a big believer.

Our good friend Merriam-Webster Online says:

1 : the quality or fact of being synchronous
2 : the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality — used especially in the psychology of C. G. Jung

Wikipedia says, “Plainly put, it is the experience of having two (or more) things happen coincidentally in a manner that is meaningful to the person or persons experiencing them, where that meaning suggests an underlying pattern.”

I think that’s an excellent definition. Synchronicity is deeply personal and I personally believe that music and motion are linked via synchronicity. Something like the crescendo of a song happening at the same moment my car shifts gears or any other time the world feels absolutely and perfectly balanced. Or any time I say “that was weird.” I think it’s a hard word to explain simply because it means different things to different people. Or the perfect song coming on the radio just when you’re feeling down, happy, etc.

How about you? Do you believe in synchronicity? Have a better definition?

Oh boy! My very first interview has been posted at Ecataromance.com.  I’m so excited.  If you want to know more about me, check it out.

MC: For those who haven’t been to your wonderful bio page to read all about you, tell us a little about yourself.  Who is Ann Cory?

AC: Ann is the fun and saucy side of me who enjoys writing hot and sexy scenes for her oh-so deserving characters. Ann cringes at writing about herself so she kindly smiles and points you to her bio page: http://www.anncory.com/bio.htm

AC: Breaking in Levi is my bad boy novella with a little fun, suspense, banter, and some steamy sex scenes. http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/breakinginlevi.htm

Butterfly Kisses is a Tryst about a swimmer who goes through a life-changing event and contemplates breaking up with her longtime supportive fiancé. It will make you laugh, cry, and oh yes, there is some light bondage to shake things up. http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/butterflykisses.htm

MC:  What’s coming up from you next?

AC: My website: http://www.anncory.com My blog: http://anncory.blogspot.com Moonglade Elite Authors blog http://www.moongladeeliteauthors.com/blog and my group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anncory

Thanks Ann!

Thank you Madison, I had fun!

MC: Hi Crystal! Tell us about your life as a librarian? Is it fabulous working around lots of books all day?

CJ: It is! As much as I love the books, that’s really not what I work with all day. I work with people who need information. Students, teachers, kids, people who wander in and want to know where the bathroom is.

MC: What’s the toughest thing about being a librarian?

CJ: Not being able to help people! Sometimes the all-knowing librarianista just has no clue how to find something.

MC: You say you’re an alphabet person now. Can you tell us what letters follow your name?

CJ: MLS, which stands for Master of Library Science. Though someday I want it to be PhD, just so people have to call me Doctor.

MC: Tell us about your book Full Swing.

CJ: *sigh* This was the first story I ever finished and I still can’t believe I sold! It just blows my mind on a daily basis. I have a book. And a pretty cover! With my name on it and everything! So, about the story. Jill is a woman with everything. She’s the Tiger Woods of women’s golf and has a hot Army Ranger husband. They have a solid marriage and have been together for years. Then he’s injured in combat. Life altering-type injury and suddenly her perfect life is unraveling at the seams. He wants her to have better than a broken man, and she wants them to do more than have sex to avoid talking to each other. No matter how hot the sex is (and it really, really is). This is the story about life getting in the way of love.

MC: Do you play golf, yourself?

CJ: I used to. I was on the varsity girls’ golf team my senior year of high school. I was part of the group that started the program. And I was really, really bad at it. I haven’t played since then, and I don’t even want to know what my handicap is now, but I had a lot of fun way back then.

MC: Tell us a little about IN ICE, your Octoberfest release.

CJ: This is the first in my four-part Wereplanets series where humans are extinct except for genetically altered humans who were developed to adapt to the harsh environments of colonized planets. Basically, humans were gene-spliced to become wereanimals. I’ve got dragons and mermaids and tiger and bears. Oh, my! In Ice is the story of Jain and Kesuk. She’s the last surviving human who crashed onto an ice planet after drifting in space in cryogenic freeze for centuries. Kesuk is the bear-shifter who saves her from the snow. Ice planet or not, their romance is pretty hot.

MC: How did you get involved with The Novelty Girls?

CJ: The same way I got involved with Cobblestone Press. Loribelle Hunt and Shelli Stevens made me! They were looking to start a new group blog and they asked me to join in. We have an awesome group of authors over there. We’re all highly motivated and really want to dig into this industry.

MC: Who are your favorite authors and why?

CJ: Oh, hell. I have no idea. My favorites are like my weight: subject to change without warning. Right now I’d have to go with Suzanne Brockmann because her new one, Into the Storm, is freaking awesome. And I met her in real life and she’s so nice!

MC: What do you do in your spare time? Any hobbies?

CJ: Well, writing was supposed to be my hobby, and it kind of turned into a second career. I’m afraid to find any more hobbies or I won’t get to sleep anymore. So, writing, reading, and sleeping are it right now. I lead such a fascinating life.

MC: Where would you like to visit? Any place you’ve always longed to go and why?

CJ: Australia. I have a crush on the cute swimmer from the Olympics. Ian Thorpe, I think his name is. Yeah, he’s way too young for me. But the accent down there is hot. And I hear it’s a pretty country too.

MC: What’s your favorite holiday?

CJ: Halloween. It’s the one day of the year where I get to dress crazy, gorge myself on candy, and not share any of my goodies with anyone else. What more could I ask for in a holiday?

MC: Tell us about your kitty.

CJ: *groan* Horatio is my little Hellcat. He’s a gorgeous little flame-point half-Siamese cat. He has big blue eyes and his points look like an orange tabby cat. He’s also Satan in a fur coat. He’s systematically broken every lamp in my apartment and cornered a mouse in the bathroom with me, but didn’t bother to kill it. So, I had to deal with a scared little mouse while buck naked and dripping wet at 6am. Sometimes I’m really grateful I’m single and no one who has to sleep with me can see me in situations like that.

MC: Five words that describe you?

CJ: Sarcastic, funny, intelligent, creative, driven

MC: Favorite food?

CJ: I have a three way tie for first (Hey, I write erotic romance. A three-way was bound to come up sometime). Enchiladas, chicken chow mein, and BBQ steak. Yep, I’m a carnivore.

MC: Favorite beverage?

CJ: My grandmother is an English immigrant, so I’m a big fan of hot tea with cream and sugar. She raised me right.

MC: Favorite place to read?

CJ: In my chair. It was a present from my mother and it’s a big cushy vintage 1950s armchair. In pink tweed.

MC: Five favorite movies?

CJ: Summer Magic (old Haley Mills musical), His Girl Friday (hot men, hot dialogue, old black & white classic), Pirates of the Caribbean (for obvious reasons), Clerks 2 (one phrase: interspecies erotica–LOL), Chronicles of Riddick (Vin Diesel is hot)

MC: How about TV shows?

CJ: CSI (the original), Grey’s Anatomy (go George!), Gilmore Girls (wholesome family fun), and The OC (my guilty pleasure).

MC: How can readers get in touch with you?

CJ: Check out my website (http://www.crystaljordan.com) and blog (http://crystaljordan.blogspot.com) for updates on my writing career and sad love life. Or email me crystal@crystaljordan.com

Thanks for having me Madison! This was loads of fun.

Thanks Crystal!

Being a writer and all, I often come across words that I find interesting or just wonder what they mean or perhaps where they came from. So I decided to start a new weekly feature to be posted on Wednesdays called Word of the Week.

This week’s word: paranormal

Since my first paranormal romance (Portrait of Seduction, Cobblestone Press – for those of you who didn’t know) is coming out in October, I thought this might be a good word to start out with.

The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines paranormal as “not scientifically explainable : SUPERNATURAL.” So we follow supernatural and find that it means:

1 : of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially : of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil

2 a : departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature b : attributed to an invisible agent (as a ghost or spirit)

Supernatural’s etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin supernaturalis, from Latin super- + natura nature (Etymology by the way means the history or origin of a linguistic form ( such as a word). Yeah, I had to look that one up too.)

Just to round out the research a bit, I’m heading to wikipedia. They describe paranormal as “an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of purported anomalous phenomena.” Hmm… anomalous. Not ringing a bell. I just don’t like big words, especially when a simpler one will do. Anomalous basically means unusual.

Para (Greek and Latin in origin btw) loosely means “similar to” or “near to.” And in our case – paranormal – para means “beyond normal.”

Righto! If paranormal is not scientifically explainable, nor is it natural or usual… what exactly is it? Myth? Fantasy?

Referring to paranormal romance, we have shape shifters, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, fairies, demons, Gods, etc. Many of which are covered in the supernatural definition above. All of these things are outside of our “reality.” Or at least what most of us consider our reality.

All of which leads me to wonder why we love them so much. It must be strictly for the fantasy aspect ( the beyond normal bit) because many of the paranormal elements we romance readers love are what many people consider monstrous and scary. Hmm…

What does that say about us, exactly?

Perhaps, like the millionaires and billionaires that are so popular, this is why we find paranormal in stories, myths, and the romance novels we love so much. They take us to a different world where anything is possible.

According to wikipedia, paranormal covers a lot of topics outside of the above mentioned. From UFOs to Astrology. I’m sure we’ll see these in a paranormal romance very soon. For now, I’m off to work in the second book in my paranormal series, Price of Seduction. Perhaps I’ll delve into what it means to BE paranormal.

If you have any thoughts on the topic or know why you love paranormal romance so much, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!